Before Aidan Walsh was entrusted with the pressurized position, he proved himself on the practice field as an understudy.

The former freshman B-team quarterback had not seen meaningful game action in more than two years when the starter was hurt early this season. After all those grueling Loyola practices with no game-day payoff, the senior was given a chance to be the Ramblers' punt returner.

"Our running backs coach (Ryan Gallagher) did a great thing putting him back there in practice," quarterbacks coach Tyler Vradenburg said. "He caught every punt without dropping one. Putting him back there in games did a lot for Aidan. When his time came to play quarterback, he was swimming in confidence."

Walsh did a credible job returning all of six punts, but that isn't why he's the focal point of the latest in a series of outstanding Loyola teams as the No. 8 Ramblers prepare to take on No. 1 Stevenson in the second round of the Class 8A playoffs Saturday afternoon in Lincolnshire.

In the 17th of his 18 regular-season games as a varsity player, Walsh found himself manning the most important position on the field because of injuries to the starting and backup quarterbacks.

Leading Stevenson's offense in the rematch of Loyola's 15-14 victory in last year's 8A semifinal will be Willie Bourbon, he of 28 victories in his three years as the Patriots' starter.

Walsh, who has played three games, won two and simultaneously provided stability and excitement to what had been an inconsistent offense.

"There's a new energy, a new flow," senior receiver Owen Buscaglia said. "When you saw him on the field in his first start, he was just one of those guys you want to win for. We were excited to see a guy who was third string for so long get a shot."

He has the most yards and fewest interceptions per attempt (7.5 and .016), the highest completion percentage (65) and the most rushing yards (167) among the team's quarterbacks. His physical running style will serve Loyola well as the weather increasingly becomes a factor.

"Obviously the weather changes your approach," Holecek said following Loyola's 10-7 loss to Mount Carmel in the regular-season finale. "Aidan is our quarterback. For a second start against a Mount Carmel team in a desperate mode (to qualify for the playoffs) in a hostile environment, I'd say he did well.

"Unfortunately the bar is set so much higher than normal. But if we get that first-round win, now we're on the fourth, fifth start as a senior and we feel good about it. We're confident in him."

Loyola has effectively, methodically groomed its quarterbacks in recent years.

Peter Pujals sat behind Malcolm Weaver as a junior before becoming a standout, and Jack Penn was Pujals' backup before leading the Ramblers to the Class 8A title game last season.

Like Pujals and Penn, Melsheimer was given a start and fared well against one of the less competitive teams on Loyola's schedule as a junior.

It stood to reason that Clifford, a junior, would back up Melsheimer, which left Walsh as the third-stringer for the second straight year.

"This is a story of a kid in the background in a lot of different ways," Vradenburg said. "If you asked me for stories about Pete or Jack or Malcolm, they'd be easy to come up with. This is just a good kid who was always in the background quietly seeking his opportunity.

"He was never a kid who would say, 'Why not me?' He was, 'If I get that opportunity, I'm going to be ready.' I love this story."

Third-string senior quarterbacks are far more likely to find a new position or a different sport than be in the thick of a playoff run.

It's also the soft-spoken Walsh's explanation every time he's asked how he's pulling this off.

"I just tried to come to practice with a positive mindset," Walsh said. "Try my hardest in practice and hopefully I would get a shot."

Football practice is monotonous, rigorous and, in Loyola's case, as taxing mentally as it is physically.

Walsh said the frustration over not playing never came close to the enjoyment he received from being part of the team.

"This team has such great tradition and the players are all friends. That helps," Walsh said. "After practice we hang out. No matter what happened, I would have had fun."